Is a cloudy tank normal?

[AngieLikedThat]

Heres a picture of my tank. It's a lot clearer than these last couple of days is it normal when cycling for it to be cloudy before clearing up?

 

[unweariedgoose]

Heres a picture of my tank. It's a lot clearer than these last couple of days is it normal when cycling for it to be cloudy before clearing up?

Whenever we clean our tank or mess with the sand in anyway, it always makes the tank foggy. It's totally normal and should go away within a week.

 

[Peace River]

Is it possible that the cloudiness is coming from suspended sand particles? It looks like the water from your HOB filter is moving the sand. You may want to raise the water level and add some live rock.

 

[Jon Fishman]

I would have rock in from day-1

 

[AngieLikedThat]

Is it possible that the cloudiness is coming from suspended sand particles? It looks like the water from your HOB filter is moving the sand. You may want to raise the water level and add some live rock.

I turned it off for a day to see if it was the sand and the cloudiness didnt go away. Is adding rocks reccomend for new tanks?

 

[Peace River]

I turned it off for a day to see if it was the sand and the cloudiness didnt go away. Is adding rocks reccomend for new tanks?

The rock is an important part of your biological filtration and in this case it may also help diffuse the water coming out of the HOB. At this point i would encourage you to add rock and focus more on cycling the tank than on clarity.

 

[arturoo1977]

Are you running the included sponge as a mechanical filter? If so, that has a huge pore so no fine particles will be reteined. You can add some filter floss after the sponge and before other media.
Also, as others mentioned, you should add your rock to populate with bacteria during cycle.

 

[stanleo]

When I first setup my tank after the cycle it was cloudy for like a month or so. It went away and never came back. I just chalk it up to a harmless bacterial bloom. Now it only gets cloudy during water changes and clears in a couple hours.

But I agree that yours is probably a result of the sand getting kicked around. That could take days to settle in your setup. Also agree that you need to put in some live rock to get the cycle going.

 

[Mikedawg]

You can add a flocculent which will bind the sand grains together and make them sink thus clarifying your water. But, probably not worth the money and so I'd just wait a few more days. I assume you didn't rinse the sand before putting in your tank.
Might find this video helpful:

 

[AngieLikedThat]

You can add a flocculent which will bind the sand grains together and make them sink thus clarifying your water. But, probably not worth the money and so I'd just wait a few more days. I assume you didn't rinse the sand before putting in your tank.
Might find this video helpful:

Yes I rinsed the sand prior to adding it

 

[AngieLikedThat]

Are you running the included sponge as a mechanical filter? If so, that has a huge pore so no fine particles will be reteined. You can add some filter floss after the sponge and before other media.
Also, as others mentioned, you should add your rock to populate with bacteria during cycle.

To clarify, you're saying I should add something along with the sponge to catch the small particals? Or remove the sponge all together and opt for an alternative

 

[AngieLikedThat]

The rock is an important part of your biological filtration and in this case it may also help diffuse the water coming out of the HOB. At this point i would encourage you to add rock and focus more on cycling the tank than on clarity.

Yes I'm focused on cycling it I was just wondering if it becoming cloudy was something typical or if I had dome something wrong in the process

 

[Peace River]

Yes I'm focused on cycling it I was just wondering if it becoming cloudy was something typical or if I had dome something wrong in the process

I still think it is likely sand, but some of the things that you could do to clear up the sand may affect your cycling process which is why I suggested that you don’t worry to much about the cloudiness yet.

 

[Ligeia]

Hi Angie!

Cloudy water is super typical for a new tank. Just give time for the sand to settle.

 

[RedPhotog]

What kind of sand are you using? If its super fine like sugar, chances are your return water from the HOB is disturbing your sand bed. Its going into the water column and its making it look cloudy.

Or its new sand, you just put new water in, and the tank hasnt sorted itself out yet. The latter just takes time, it will eventually clear up. The super fine sand, you should try lessening the return flow or position the return nozzles in a way to not disrupt the sand bed.

But cloudy tanks are normal in the beginning, and sand it usually the culprit of cloudy water.

 

[arturoo1977]

To clarify, you're saying I should add something along with the sponge to catch the small particals? Or remove the sponge all together and opt for an alternative

You can do both ways, just add a filter floss after your sponge or remove the sponge. Thing is, sponge could trap bigger particles and let the floss just for smaller ones. If you remove sponge and let only the floss, it will clogged sooner, but no big deal, you can clean it with water waste from a water change or RO water.

 

[lapin]

Yes I rinsed the sand prior to adding it

Did you rinse it until no cloudy water was in the bucket?
What sand did you use?

 

[AngieLikedThat]

Did you rinse it until no cloudy water was in the bucket?
What sand did you use?

I mixed two together one was regular sand and the other one I think it said was live sand or something. It was clear for the most part when I capped the rinsing.

 

[lapin]

I mixed two together one was regular sand and the other one I think it said was live sand or something. It was clear for the most part when I capped the rinsing.

If it was clear and did not cloud up when you added water to the tank then it is prob not sand dust.
My guess is a slight bacterial bloom. Nothing to worry about.